Feds tell Alabama Indian games off limits

The federal agency that oversees Indian casinos told Alabama's attorney general that tribal casinos can operate electronic games that don't follow the state's definition of bingo.

Attorney General Luther Strange said he disagrees and plans to make his point with a lawsuit he has filed in state court.

Strange has raided and shut down privately run casinos in Alabama, including VictoryLand in Shorter on Feb. 19, and he has encouraged the National Indian Gaming Commission to take action against the Poarch Creek Indians' casinos in Atmore, Wetumpka and Montgomery.

In a letter to the attorney general on March 14, the acting general counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission, Eric Shepard, wrote that "Indian tribes are not bound by state definitions of the game of bingo when operating on Indian lands."

Alabama permits bingo in some counties, but not slot machines. Strange maintains the "electronic bingo" games advertised by casinos aren't real bingo and are illegal slots. The tribe says its machines are legal bingo and comply with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Shepard said that as long as a state permits bingo, regardless of its definition of bingo, a tribe may operate the game as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. He said his commission, not the state, regulates games on Indian lands.

The attorney general wrote back the next day that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act prohibits tribes from operating slot machines without state approval, and the Creeks' games are a kind of slot machine.

"I disagree that federal law gives the Poarch Band the right to ignore state law in that way, and I expect that my lawsuit against the tribe will determine who is right," Strange said in a statement.

Strange filed suit last month in Elmore County Circuit Court challenging the operation of the three Creek casinos. The Wetumpka casino is located in Elmore County and is being expanded into a resort with a high-rise hotel.

Poarch Band Attorney General Venus McGhee Prince said in a statement the tribe has always been careful to follow the law and Shepard's letter should "end any further discussion on this issue."

The letters between Shepard and Strange were first reported by the Montgomery Advertiser.

Shepard's letter was similar to one that NIGC Chairwoman sent Gov. Robert Bentley in 2011. She said the federal law's definition of bingo may be more expansive than some state laws, and the federal law permits tribes to operate electronic versions of bingo that operate instantly and award cash prizes.